South Broadway construction still on schedule

The wintry weather that recently came to Cortez had little affect on the Highway 160/491 South Broadway reconstruction project that started in July.

Nanci Regnier, project public information manager for the project, said the contractor did not do any concrete work last week and was only looking to do so by the middle of this week.

She said even with possible rain or snow, the concrete could still be poured as long as the ground and concrete are kept above 32 degrees.

To accomplish this, Regnier said the contractor will cover the ground at night and once the concrete is poured it will be covered as well.

“We will just keep the concrete at a certain temperature,” she said, and added that crews are in the process of milling and grading the northbound lanes on Highway 160.

“It does not seem to be much of an issue,” Regnier said when discussing the inclement weather conditions.

She said since Colorado weather can be unpredictable, it is taken into account when signing contracts to do projects like this one.

Regnier also said one part of the project has now been completed and they are now working on the second half of the reconstruction project.

Crews last Wednesday started to temporarily restripe and shift traffic to the newly constructed southbound lanes of Highway 160 with lanes reduced to one lane in each direction in preparation for milling and paving operations in the northbound lanes. For the next five weeks, crews will mill, grade and pave the northbound lanes of the highway and install new curbs and gutters.

Regnier said she personally visited businesses, handed out newsletters and phoned business owners who were out of town to explain to them what the next part of the project would entail and the impacts it could bring.

Lawson Construction is working to expedite work activities and still anticipates completing construction by mid-December. Lawson was given and agreed to a Dec. 15 completion date, and Regnier said that is still the target date for the contractor.

Similar to what occurred when Lawson Construction was repairing the south side of Broadway, all business access will be maintained but altered at times to accommodate construction activities. A local business access lane will be provided adjacent to construction activities with posted signs listing businesses located within each block. Flaggers will direct customers accessing businesses within the construction zone.

Several business owners had complained that the work on the southbound lanes was impacting their businesses because the access was hard to see or find.

Regnier said the businesses and people she recently spoke to and visited were prepared for the reconstruction work.

She said the $4.8 million project is a Colorado Department of Transportation Project with the funding coming from CDOT.

Regnier said the crews working on this project will not be working on or during the Thanksgiving holiday.